WDW Summary of NEW DAS changes and Disney Genie - Post ONE is an updated summary

[jhun21]

Just a post about my experience today....logged on around 8:30 am Pacific.....waited about 2.5 hours before getting to speak with someone, kept having to refresh/sign back in, but the chat window would come right back up. Unfortunately/fortunately I didn't qualify since while I am wheelchair bound, that doesn't restrict me from being able to wait in line. But, at least I won't have to stand!

 

[wdhinn89]

Is the wait time better during the week vs the weekend?

 

[gap2368]

Is the wait time better during the week vs the weekend?

I think they are about the same

 

[SueM in MN]

Is the wait time better during the week vs the weekend?

What seems to matter more from what I’ve seen is when you are going.
30 days before anytime during Spring Break or a major holiday is going to be busier calling in than 30 days before a normally quiet park time.

 

[preemiemama]

Thank you for all the help/advice on this thread. We arranged our DAS for my father-in-law today, so I thought I'd let everyone know how things went!

I logged us in around 12:15. As a PP mentioned, it logged us out about every 30 minutes. There were a couple times it took me about 5 minutes to log back in and get the chat window to stop showing "go back to the last page or sign in". A couple times it worked if I shut the window, others it was just logging out and back in again. I shuffled between Chrome and Safari for that part.

Around 2:15, when I logged back in, I noticed there was a name on the chat box instead of "message us". I figured we were close to the video chat, and I was correct. About 5 minutes later they gathered information about my traveling party and then we were chatting by 2:30. We explained why we needed the DAS and they took his picture. That part took about 5 minutes to complete, and we were then transferred back to the chat window to complete the advanced selections.

I was logged out in the middle of the selections, and it took a minute to get back in, but otherwise things went smoothly there. Not all of the rides listed had availability when we wanted them, and we had a couple of times we had to look again because it overlapped a dining reservation, but overall the CM was very patient and helpful. They will ask you to list each day of your trip, and then choose morning, afternoon, or evening for the park you have a reservation in. Then choose 2 attractions and an alternate (or two). The CM we worked with truly tried to match up everything she could and we were happy just to have a few rides ready to go in advance.

One final note, the chat feature worked fine in Safari, but the video chat did NOT. My browser froze completely, and I was glad I still had Chrome open so I could quickly log in there and try again! So, if you are on a Mac, I'd recommend using Chrome and not Safari for this process!

 

[SueM in MN]

One final note, the chat feature worked fine in Safari, but the video chat did NOT. My browser froze completely, and I was glad I still had Chrome open so I could quickly log in there and try again! So, if you are on a Mac, I'd recommend using Chrome and not Safari for this process!

it works fine using Safari on an iPad - I’ve done it twice without any problem.
Just wanted to put that out there since many people do use iPads.

 

[jlundeen]

Has anyone with a DAS pass, and scooter, been able to do Guardians yet? Wondering if there is any thing different about the entrance and queue with DAS... is there a separate entrance for ECVs and wheelchairs?

 

[SueM in MN]

Has anyone with a DAS pass, and scooter, been able to do Guardians yet? Wondering if there is any thing different about the entrance and queue with DAS... is there a separate entrance for ECVs and wheelchairs?

My family went to the AP Preview for Guardians of the Galaxy with our daughter, who uses a wheelchair.
There is no separate entrance for wheelchairs or ECVs. Both the regular and Lightning Lane entrances and lines are wheelchair and ECV accessible.
At This Time, there is no Standby Waiting line.
ALL guests either need to pay for Lightning Lane access or get into the Virtual Queue/Boarding Group using the My Disney Experience app. The first chance to get a Virtual Queue spot is at 7am before the park opens; those have been all taken in less than a minute. There are additional chances to join the Virtual Queue from inside the park at 1pm and 6pm - I haven’t read anything on how those are going AND I’m not positive there is one at 6pm. I had read there was going to be one, but haven’t seen anything since then.
DAS holders follow the same process for getting into the Virtual Queue. The difference is that when your Boarding Group is called, you tell a CM at the entrance you gave DAS; the DAS and Boarding Group will be verified, then you will be sent to the Lightning Lane entrance. Other guests will go into another line to wait.

The Lightning Lane bypasses a ‘museum’ that showcases a little more of the Guardians and their planet. We used the Lightning Lane, so didn’t see it; pictures and video I’ve seen since look pretty cool.
There were no stairs until we were leaving the attraction; at that point, there were flights of stairs which were next to large elevators. I have read there are 2 boarding areas; I don’t know if the other one is accessible, but guests could easily be sent to the same boarding area my family used.

 

[SueM in MN]

Has anyone with a DAS pass, and scooter, been able to do Guardians yet? Wondering if there is any thing different about the entrance and queue with DAS... is there a separate entrance for ECVs and wheelchairs?

This Post about my Guardians of the Galaxy Experience may be helpful

This post about Virtual Queue and Cosmic Rewind with DAS Might also be helpful

 

[leiaorgana]

It logged me out of the chat. How do i get back in?

 

[SueM in MN]

It logged me out of the chat. How do i get back in?

That’s normal. It times out about every 30 minutes or so.
You should be able to get it back up by tapping the ‘back’ button on your browser. That may take you back to the page where you agreed to the Terms and Conditions; if it does, tap again to accept.
That usually brings up the chat window again, but it may be blank. If it is, look for the x close button on the top right of the chat window. Tap that and the active chat window should come back up in exactly the place you left it. If you aren’t sure it’s active, you can type something in. When you hit Return, you should see it in the message window with ‘sent’

 

[leiaorgana]

Thank you @SueM in MN ! I panicked there for a second because it wouldn't go back to the right page and I thought I wouldn't be able to get back in to the selection chat.

My experience today was as follows: Accepted the terms and conditions and then tapped into the video chat at 12:02pm because I was having some laptop issues today. I got the message asking for details at 12:04pm and was then video chatting with a cast member by 12:07pm. When booking preselected DAS attractions they wouldn't let me book the length of my stay because I'm not staying onsite and told me that they could only do the 5 days currently in my window and that I'd either have to do it everyday or wait until my full stay was in the 30 day window but there likely wouldn't be much availability left if I did that, which I found odd because everyone on here seems to be booking for their length of stay in that one chat but maybe that's another onsite only perk.

Availability was already slim pickings for my days and all of my times are early afternoon times when I wanted mornings but I'm just happy to get something as it will be a great help for me. I was also using Chrome and VPN with no issues since I'm from the UK and the CM I did the selections with gave me a link to chat with them everyday without having to go through the video chat again but I'm not really sure how that works so tomorrow could be interesting. I was finished by around 12:50pm after they asked me to check everything was correct on My Plans.

 

[Leigh L]

Thank you @SueM in MN ! I panicked there for a second because it wouldn't go back to the right page and I thought I wouldn't be able to get back in to the selection chat.

My experience today was as follows: Accepted the terms and conditions and then tapped into the video chat at 12:02pm because I was having some laptop issues today. I got the message asking for details at 12:04pm and was then video chatting with a cast member by 12:07pm. When booking preselected DAS attractions they wouldn't let me book the length of my stay because I'm not staying onsite and told me that they could only do the 5 days currently in my window and that I'd either have to do it everyday or wait until my full stay was in the 30 day window but there likely wouldn't be much availability left if I did that, which I found odd because everyone on here seems to be booking for their length of stay in that one chat but maybe that's another onsite only perk.

Availability was already slim pickings for my days and all of my times are early afternoon times when I wanted mornings but I'm just happy to get something as it will be a great help for me. I was also using Chrome and VPN with no issues since I'm from the UK and the CM I did the selections with gave me a link to chat with them everyday without having to go through the video chat again but I'm not really sure how that works so tomorrow could be interesting. I was finished by around 12:50pm after they asked me to check everything was correct on My Plans.

Last week my DD did her interview and selections. It had taken DD 3+ hours to get into the chat (on the second day trying) but once the CM came on, the interview and wait for the preselections went smoothly.

The CM was originally only going to book for the days within the 30-day window. However, when those were done, my DD inquired about booking preselected DAS attractions for our length of stay and the CM did accommodate.

The CM said the form she sent in the chat only allowed for three days, which didn't make sense at the time. In hindsight, what I think she meant was the selection form probably automates for the length of stay, and for us, 3 days were within the 30-day window and 2 days outside. To get the additional 2 days, she sent another form.

 

[leiaorgana]

Last week my DD did her interview and selections. It had taken DD 3+ hours to get into the chat (on the second day trying) but once the CM came on, the interview and wait for the preselections went smoothly.

The CM was originally only going to book for the days within the 30-day window. However, when those were done, my DD inquired about booking preselected DAS attractions for our length of stay and the CM did accommodate.

The CM said the form she sent in the chat only allowed for three days, which didn't make sense at the time. In hindsight, what I think she meant was the selection form probably automates for the length of stay, and for us, 3 days were within the 30-day window and 2 days outside. To get the additional 2 days, she sent another form.

I’ll be there between 19th June - 10th July but only visiting Disney from the 26th June onwards.

The CM I spoke to outright said before even starting my selection process that they couldn’t book past the 30th June today and when I told them that other people had been able to book the length of their stay she just said that she couldn’t see a Disney resort stay linked to my account (we’re owners at Sheraton Vistana Villages) and couldn’t do it. I had to fill in 2 forms to get those days but I’m going to ask about it again tomorrow and see what that CM says.

 

[DFelt1]

My experience from May 30 (Memorial Day) -

I was planning to register the following weekend to be fully within 30 days, but I realized that Memorial Day is exactly 30 days and son doesn't have school. (Note that we were on a PC using Chrome, not in incognito.)

We are on exactly at 7AM, and at 7:02 we had a chat going. When the video started, the cast member asked her questions, but as we were replying, I realized she had frozen. Some back and forth in the chat, she acknowledged problems, but wasn't clear if it was her end or ours. To troubleshoot, she asked us to open chat through the app, even though we couldn't video. Then after that, back to the PC. She dropped our chat and said that tech support would route us right back to her. We did get routed back, but the video portion still wouldn't work.

It was now 7:45 and she explained that the only solution was to end the chat and rejoin the queue. She suggested we clear cache and cookies prior, which we did. (Since the video did initially work and she was the one frozen, I do believe the issue was on their end). CM was helpful, but the situation was a bit frustrating. I'd say I'm surprised that there's no code to bypass the queue for true tech support issues, but then again, Disney IT...

Back at the start of the queue, I'm sure I was driving my wife crazy with my doom and gloom about having to wait all day long. Around 8:35, we were picked up by another CM, video went perfectly, picture was taken and we were off to planning. Planning was also fairly quick, the times weren't perfect, but I only asked for one change where I had asked for evening on our arrival day and the planner gave us 9AM times.

Done at 8:55AM.

TL;DR - Joined exactly at 7AM, would have been a very quick morning except for tech support issues. Back in queue, done before 9AM anyway.

 

[lanejudy]

Here's a link to an nice article written about the process of obtaining DAS recently:
Using the New Disability Access System

 

[CJK]

Hi all! Quick question for you.... If we book the 2 advanced rides before the trip, are we not permitted to book additional rides inside the park until we use those first 2 advanced bookings? If we can't book the advanced rides until the afternoon, does that mean we can't book anything all morning?

 

[SueM in MN]

Hi all! Quick question for you.... If we book the 2 advanced rides before the trip, are we not permitted to book additional rides inside the park until we use those first 2 advanced bookings? If we can't book the advanced rides until the afternoon, does that mean we can't book anything all morning?

DAS Advance Selections are totally separate from the DAS Return Times that are obtained on the day of your park visit.

You don’t need to use either of the DAS Advance Selections before making or using DAS Return Times. In fact, you don’t even need to use them at all if they don’t work out on the day of your visit.
Post 1 of this thread has more details -

 

[leiaorgana]

Thank you @SueM in MN ! I panicked there for a second because it wouldn't go back to the right page and I thought I wouldn't be able to get back in to the selection chat.

My experience today was as follows: Accepted the terms and conditions and then tapped into the video chat at 12:02pm because I was having some laptop issues today. I got the message asking for details at 12:04pm and was then video chatting with a cast member by 12:07pm. When booking preselected DAS attractions they wouldn't let me book the length of my stay because I'm not staying onsite and told me that they could only do the 5 days currently in my window and that I'd either have to do it everyday or wait until my full stay was in the 30 day window but there likely wouldn't be much availability left if I did that, which I found odd because everyone on here seems to be booking for their length of stay in that one chat but maybe that's another onsite only perk.

Availability was already slim pickings for my days and all of my times are early afternoon times when I wanted mornings but I'm just happy to get something as it will be a great help for me. I was also using Chrome and VPN with no issues since I'm from the UK and the CM I did the selections with gave me a link to chat with them everyday without having to go through the video chat again but I'm not really sure how that works so tomorrow could be interesting. I was finished by around 12:50pm after they asked me to check everything was correct on My Plans.

Just a little update on how the rest of my preselections went today:

The CM I spoke to today was so incredibly helpful. He let me book the rest of my trip today all of the way up to our last park day on the 9th July completely unprompted by me and instead of doing the preselect form, he just looked at my account and saw what parks I was going on what days and pasted all of the available times for every ride into the chat and let me select what I wanted from there. Still took about 50mins to do because I’m not sure if he was talking to someone else at the same time as me but I really appreciated how helpful the CM I had today was.

 

[SueM in MN]

Just did the video chat to sign up for DAS.
It was easy. Waited about 30 mins after signing into the chat for a CM to appear.
Texted for a bit, then went to video chat( which i hate ) lol
But it was easy. I explained why DAS would be useful. You can give your diagnosis to the cm if it helps. It helped me because i was having trouble going into the detail they wanted. Once i said my diagnosis, i was good and was accepted.
She also signed me up for" 2 bonus " das attractions for my Epcot day. I actually have 2 epcot days, and she gave me 2 passes for both days.

Copied and moved from a closed thread to try to keep all info together